Yoon Eun Hye, Lee Hyori

With this generation so internet-savvy, and the stars living in an overwhelmingly wired society that analyzes their every move, it’s no surprise that more and more, celebrities are using the internet (Stars: They’re just like us!) to reach out to their fans — in affection, in exasperation, and in defense of themselves.

Lee Hyori, Yoon Eun Hye, Gu Hye Sun …
“Women who can’t live without their homepages!”

Conveying malicious gossip via the internet

The 16th was a day when the internet found itself abuzz with singer Ivy’s plea, “Stop writing false rumors.” All day, her name remained the most-searched term online, and she censured the press in a posting she put up on her mini-homepage: “I can’t take you reporters just writing whatever you want to condemn a person. Please stop writing fiction, and don’t speak so recklessly about something you haven’t heard or seen for yourselves.” …

SONG OF THE DAY

Type R - “By My Side” [ zShare download ]

Other stars defend themselves online >>

Tags: anti-fans, Ivy, Lee Hyori, netizens, uljjangs, Yoon Eun-hye

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 9 Comments →

The “uljjang” phenomenon is one that is fascinating, odd, borderline disturbing (or at least perplexing), uniquely Korean — and now, it appears, waning.

The word uljjang comes from a mashup of the word for “face” and a slang term for “best,” thereby meaning “best face” or simply “good-looking,” in the same way that momjjang means “well-built body.” However, the term also refers to the phenomenon of recent years where ordinary (albeit extremely good-looking) people have become bona fide celebrities simply from a photo posted online in their blogs, mini-hompages, and cafes. The photo in question would be widely circulated, and the hottie would find him- or herself vaulted into quasi internet celebrity, and then real honest-to-goodness mainstream celebrity once they’d been “discovered” and debuted as actors and entertainers. (Some were discovered in more conventional ways, aka off the streets and in public locations, which is how I hear Nam Sang Mi, pictured above, was first found, although I don’t know for sure that that’s true.)

Many uljjangs may have faded back into relative obscurity soon after the initial buzz, although a fair number went on to success. According to the following article, however, it seems the phenomenon — as with so many internet-spawned fads — is on the downtrend:

Why are there no recent internet “uljjang stars”?

Where have all the “uljjang” stars, who’d once seemed to pop up every day, gone?

Starting with Gu Hye Sun of the currently airing King and I and Nam Sang Mi of Time of Dog and Wolf, and including others such as Park Han Byul, Kang Eun Bi, and Bae Seul Ki, many stars who’d originated as “uljjangs” are now in the entertainment industry, but it’s not so easy finding new uljjang stars. …

 
(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Romantic Couch - “Star Bossa” [ zShare download ]

 
Where have all the uljjangs gone? >>

Tags: Gu Hye-sun, Kim Ok-bin, Nam Sang-mi, netizens, Park Han-byul, uljjangs

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 13 Comments →